


i don't fall slow like i used to

by celestialfics



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious, hinata drops a lot of hints, there are flowers in their hair and its cute i promise, they both like each other but arent confident in it enough to tell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 20:59:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6823906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialfics/pseuds/celestialfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the midst of one of Hinata and Kageyama’s running races, a bee stings Hinata and Kageyama isn’t quite sure what to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i don't fall slow like i used to

**Author's Note:**

> title from twenty one pilots's "air catcher"  
> [Edited 2016-11-06]

“I’m gonna beat you this time, Kageyama!” Hinata proclaimed as Daichi told the team they’d be going for a run. Winning was always at the top of Hinata’s mind, whether it be against his teammate or against another whole team during a match.

Kageyama casted a glance in Hinata’s direction but did not respond; instead, he blew out a puff of air through his mouth and bent down to tighten his shoelaces.

“Did you hear me?” Hinata continued to poke at Kageyama, prompting Sugawara to come up behind him and place a hand on his back.

“I think he heard you, Hinata-kun,” Sugawara said, a light smile gracing his lips as one almost always did. “I mean, you say that every time we run.”

“And you never win,” Kageyama spoke, standing back up and looking down at Hinata.

“That’s not true! I won… I won… that one time.” Hinata looked down at his feet, the toes of his shoes bumping together.

“Dumbass,” Kageyama mumbled, kicking at the dirt underneath his feet. Sometimes Kageyama thought about letting Hinata win just so he could see that bright smile of his, but his pride got in the way.

Hinata scowled at the familiar insult for a moment before launching forward into a sprint.

“False start!” Kageyama shouted in response, reacting within a split-second.

Hinata couldn’t respond considering the fact he was nonstop yelling as he ran. Kageyama was quick to catch up, but Hinata held a minor lead.

As the pair sprinted around a curve, a bee caught sight of Hinata’s bright orange hair. The bug had set its target and began to fly quickly towards the boy; within seconds, Hinata heard a fierce buzzing around his head. He began to flail his arms, allowing an oblivious Kageyama to take the lead.

“Get—Get away from me!” Hinata yelled at the bug that kept swooping dangerously close to his ears. He nicked the bee with his finger, flinging it a little ways away before he began to sprint towards Kageyama again. Because of the delay, Kageyama had gained quite a bit on Hinata, so he had to power forward to catch up.

Unfortunately, Hinata had aggravated the bee by smacking it. The insect charged towards its bright orange target, again buzzing around him.

Letting out a shriek, Hinata swung at the bee once again.

Kageyama slowed down at the sharp sound and glanced behind him to see Hinata battling the insect, so he stopped running completely and turned around. He didn’t want Hinata to get hurt, but he also didn’t want to approach the situation hands-on because he didn’t particularly want to get stung himself, either.

“Hinata! Dumbass! Stop moving your arms!” Kageyama yelled, watching as Hinata froze in place on command. As it turned out, that wasn’t the right thing to do. Since the bee was already agitated, it landed on Hinata’s frozen arm and shoved its stinger into his skin.

“Ow!! Ah, stop!” Hinata screamed at the bee, as if it could understand. The bee wasn’t a honeybee, so it didn’t die after stinging him. As it went in to sting him again, Hinata slapped at it with all his might, sending it flying into the grass on the side of the road.

He clutched his opposite hand onto his arm where he’d been stung and he awkwardly ran towards Kageyama, in case the bee were to come out of the grass.

“So, this means I won, right?” Kageyama spoke as Hinata shuffled towards him. As he approached, however, Kageyama noticed Hinata was crying. Kageyama’s mood and stance automatically changed.

“Hey, what’re you doing that for?” Kageyama prodded carefully, watching a tear drip from Hinata’s face and onto the road beneath them. “I take that back. I take it back! You won.”

“It hurts…” Hinata finally responded, rubbing lightly at the red area.

“Let me see,” Kageyama said, Hinata moving his hand away to let him get a closer look. “It’s swelling, uh… does it hurt when I do this?” He pressed a finger to the skin about a centimeter away from the red, swelling patch.

“A little.” Hinata sniffled, clenching his teeth.

Kageyama tilted his head to look directly at the wound, examining it. “There’s no stinger in it. I don’t… I don’t know what else to do.”

“Me either.” Hinata paused, his eyes wandered back to where he’d flung the bee. “Whenever I get hurt at home, my mom likes to kiss it better.”

Kageyama’s mouth fell open, “Are you shitting me, Hinata? How old _are_ you?”

“I’m not saying I want you to!” Hinata yelled defensively, “I’m just saying.”

(Well, it wasn’t like Kageyama would _mind_ kissing Hinata, not at all, he just hadn’t imagined kissing him on the _arm_.)

“I don’t see anything that we could do about it out here; we better get back to the gym. Maybe someone there knows where the first-aid stuff is. But first,” Kageyama reached his hands up to Hinata’s face, pressing the rough pads of his fingers lightly on Hinata’s cheeks. “We have to get rid of these.” He stroked his thumbs under Hinata’s eyes, wiping away the tears. Hinata’s skin felt hot. “I don’t want the others to think I made you cry,” he clarified as Hinata stared at him with wide eyes.

“Right…”

Before the pair started back towards the gym, Kageyama asked, “Do you want a piggyback ride?”

“Just because I got stung doesn’t mean I can’t walk!” Hinata retorted fiercely, declining Kageyama's offer.

“I know,” Kageyama still continued, “but do you want one?”

“What’s up with you?” Hinata asked as he began to walk back the direction they had come. “You being nice is scary.”

“I’m carrying you either way,” Kageyama claimed as he scooped Hinata up and heaved him over his shoulder.

“Hey!” Hinata pounded his hands on Kageyama’s back, “Put me down, dumbass! It’s just my arm!”

A very faint smile flashed across Kageyama’s face, “So, do you want a piggyback ride now?”

“Just put me down!”

Kageyama leaned over to place Hinata’s feet on the ground, but as soon as they made contact, Kageyama turned around so Hinata could hop onto his back. Figuring this was the better alternative, Hinata set his arms on Kageyama’s shoulders and jumped up to have his legs supported by Kageyama’s arms looping underneath them.

“Better?” Kageyama asked, glad Hinata couldn’t see the blush that spread across his face as Hinata wrapped his arms lightly around Kageyama’s shoulders and neck.

“I still don’t need to be carried,” Hinata argued, “but yeah, this is better than before. Plus, it’s like I’m taller than you now.” He set his head on top of Kageyama’s, admiring the view from quite a few centimeters upwards. Kageyama’s hair slightly tickled Hinata’s chin, but it was nice. Plus, Kageyama smelled good. Hinata decided that this wasn’t quite a bad way to travel.

“How’s your arm?” Kageyama hopped a little bit as Hinata began to slip slightly downwards.

“You’re—”

“Don’t say I’m ‘scary’ for caring.”

“Oh, uh, well… it still hurts, and it’s kind of itchy.” Hinata looked at his arm, “It won’t affect my spiking, though! Promise! After this, will you toss to me?”

Kageyama softly snorted, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll toss to you.”

“Awesome!”

* * *

 

When the duo walked back into the gym, their other teammates had already returned from the run. A few skeptical glances were casted towards them because of the fact Hinata was still riding on Kageyama’s back.

Before anyone could ask questions, Kageyama set Hinata on the ground. “He got stung by a bee.”

Takeda-sensei told Hinata where he could get some ice to apply, and Kageyama volunteered to go with him, so Takeda handed Kageyama the maintenance room key and the pair started off in that direction. As they left, Tsukishima made a comment about Hinata’s bright hair under his breath, but no one could really hear it (besides Yamaguchi, and he snickered).

“Where did he say the ice was again?” Hinata rubbed at his head, causing to Kageyama to scoff.

“Did the sting go to your brain?” he started, “The maintenance room, dumbass.” Kageyama spun the key-ring around his finger.

“No… I just thought maybe we could detour,” Hinata replied as he stopped walking.

“Why the hell would we do that?” Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows. “You need the ice and we need to get back to practice.”

“I know, but—”

“It’s not like you to skip practice,” Kageyama noted, grabbing Hinata’s wrist and dragging him along.

“They’re not gonna let me play, anyway,” Hinata argued, frowning, “Can we just detour after we get the ice?”

“And where exactly do you want to go?” Kageyama didn’t let go of Hinata’s wrist, even after Hinata started to walk with him again.

“I dunno,” Hinata blew some air out through his mouth. “We could go anywhere.”

“Back to practice?” Kageyama raised an eyebrow, his arm becoming stiff upon the realization that he was still holding Hinata.

“Anywhere but there. I don’t wanna just sit around, which Sugawara-san and Takeda-sensei will make me do ‘til I feel better,” Hinata explained.

Kageyama nodded once and finally let go of Hinata’s wrist as he approached the maintenance room. After unlocking the door, he stepped inside.

“Do you see the freezer?” Hinata asked as he scanned the room. 

“Right there.” Kageyama pointed to the freezer, prying it open to show several large bags of ice and a few smaller ice packs. He grabbed one of the packs for Hinata and handed it to him, Hinata pressing it to his arm. He let out a long sigh as the pain was slowly numbed.

“Much better.”

Kageyama wasn’t quite sure why he did, but he reached one of his hands up and ruffled Hinata’s hair. Hinata blushed slightly as Kageyama took his hand out of his hair.

“Detour time?” Hinata tried to take Kageyama’s attention away from his blushing.

Kageyama sighed, holding the maintenance room door open for Hinata. After he’d walked out, Kageyama re-locked the door behind them.

“Where do you want to go?” Kageyama asked again, following Hinata as he walked.

“Don't you ever just _walk_ , Kageyama?” Hinata pondered, taking a few steps in no particular direction.

“I walk home with you,” Kageyama replied, matching his footsteps to Hinata’s.

“No, I mean with nowhere to go,” Hinata elaborated.

“Why would I?” Kageyama seemed perplexed.

Hinata shrugged, “I dunno, to clear your head or something.”

“Or to skip practice.” Kageyama narrowed his eyes at Hinata, who walked faster in response. Kageyama again matched his pace. “You’ve got to be headed _somewhere_ ,” he added.

“I’m not,” Hinata deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest - which sort of made it easier to hold the ice pack. “but if you really don’t wanna come with, you can go back to practice.”

“They’ll think I lost you.” Kageyama denied the offer, continuing to follow slightly behind Hinata. “They wouldn’t believe _Hinata_ would skip practice.” He constructed the excuse half because he believed it and half because he didn’t want to leave Hinata’s side.

“I’m not skipping!” Hinata ensured, “They wouldn’t let me play if I went back.”

“You already said that three times, dumbass,” Kageyama grumbled, “Plus, they would let _me_ play. You could watch.”

“I _said_ you could go back,” Hinata reiterated with an exasperated sigh, scuffing one of his shoes in the dirt as he came to a stop. They hadn’t realized while they were talking, but they’d made it to the edge of the school grounds. Hinata promptly turned and started walking down the sidewalk, Kageyama jogging slightly to catch up to him. He resisted the urge to ask ‘Where are you going?’ again.

The pair walked in relative silence for a short while, then, the only sound being the soles of their shoes scraping against the sidewalk beneath them.

Hinata spoke up first, “Hey Kageyama, did you know what’s special about that tree?” He pointed across the street to a tree surely didn’t look very special.

“I don’t know,” Kageyama responded, looking at the ordinary tree skeptically.

“Well… I better tell you then,” Hinata said, shifting the weight of the ice pack on his arm.

“Go on.”

“People kiss under it,” Hinata blurted, “Isn't that weird?”

Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows at the tree and its location so close to the road. “I don’t believe you, Hinata,” he said, tearing his gaze from the tree as they passed it.

“I’m not lying!” Hinata defended.

“Why would people kiss under that? It’s right out in the open!”

A light blush began to spread over Hinata’s face as his fib became apparent. “Whatever, it’s just what I’ve heard.”

Kageyama clicked his tongue once, wondering why Hinata had brought it up in the first place. Maybe he wanted to kiss someone... Did he have a crush on a girl? A slight burning feeling surged through Kageyama’s chest for a split second, but he managed to smother it.

“Do you—”

“Have you—”

Both of the boys started talking at the same time.

“Go ahead,” Kageyama said, kind of glad Hinata had stopped him from asking his question. (He wasn’t sure he really wanted to know the answer.)

Hinata scratched the back of his neck, not meeting Kageyama’s gaze. “Have you ever kissed anyone, Kageyama?”

“I—uh,” Kageyama sputtered, his hands wringing together behind his back as he walked, “No.”

“Why not?” Hinata tried to maintain his walking pace so he stayed slightly ahead of Kageyama, so that the latter couldn’t see his blushing face. He also tried to keep a level tone. “You’re a good looking guy.”

“Yeah?” Kageyama snorted before continuing. “Well, I guess people just don’t really like volleyball fanatics like me. At least, not volleyball fanatics to my extent.”

“I do!” Hinata exclaimed, promptly snapping his mouth closed afterwards.

Kageyama swallowed thickly. “Anyway, why do you keep on bringing up kissing?” he inquired aloud, “You have a crush on someone or something, dumbass?”

“Yes—I mean, no. I mean, yes—” Hinata gulped, “No.”

“Which is it, then?” Kageyama strode forward, Hinata’s face (including pink cheeks) coming into view. A slight smile formed on Kageyama’s lips.

“No. Yes.” Hinata would’ve probably smacked himself in the face if both of his hands weren’t occupied.

“Let’s turn here,” Kageyama suggested, taking Hinata’s shoulder in his hand and guiding him into the turn. He'd let him off the hook - this time.

“Now, where are _you_ going?” Hinata asked, glad the pressure was taken off of him.

“Nowhere in particular,” Kageyama replied, removing his hand from Hinata’s shoulder, “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”

“Hmm,” Hinata hummed, “Maybe.”

The path Kageyama had chosen led the pair to the edge of the forest, where Hinata asked if they could sit down. After teasing him slightly for not wanting to ‘just sit around at practice’, Kageyama complied. Little purple flowers sprouted in the grass where they sat, and Hinata played with one in his fingers of his free hand. Kageyama stared at the flower in Hinata’s hand, not realizing that Hinata was staring back at him.

Kageyama’s eyes eventually wandered back up to Hinata’s face; he slightly jumped when he noticed Hinata was looking back at him. They held eye-contact for a few fleeting moments, not sure what to do or say. Hinata’s breathing hitched.

Clearing his throat, Kageyama looked away, trying to ignore how warm his face felt. Hinata let out a giggle, plucking a single flower from the ground.

“I have an idea,” Hinata stated as he raised his hand to Kageyama’s face. He gently tucked the small purple flower behind Kageyama’s ear, admiring his work then afterwards. “You look cute now.”

“Not scary?”

“Still a little scary,” Hinata teased, dropping his ice pack onto the ground. He felt like his sting wound was numb enough, so he didn’t need to hold the cold to it any longer.

Kageyama became hyper-aware to the flower that sat in his hair, and he was careful not to move too much or too quickly as that would cause it to fall out. He kind of realized he was a bit whipped at that point.

“You said you never kissed anyone, right?” Hinata brought the topic back up, much to Kageyama’s dismay.

“Are you trying to rub it in or something?” he hissed, squinting his eyes at Hinata.

“No! I was just wondering what it felt like…” Hinata’s 'curious first-year boy' attitude was showing.

Kageyama found himself sorting through several emotions after that statement: Did Hinata want Kageyama to kiss him? Was he genuinely curious, or was this a giant hint? Was Kageyama projecting his own feelings onto Hinata? He wanted to scream, and that was all he knew for sure.

“Oh,” he eventually breathed, Hinata frowning in response.

Letting out a huff, Hinata ripped another flower out of the ground, tearing off its petals. After, he inhaled deeply to calm his churning nerves. On impulse he sputtered, “What do I have to say for you to kiss me?”

Kageyama’s eyes quickly flickered up to Hinata, and he found himself at a loss for words at both what Hinata had just said and at the look on his face. Instead of responding, Kageyama leaned forward and pressed his lips to Hinata’s forehead. Hinata’s jaw dropped and his amber eyes followed Kageyama as he leaned forward and then back with a slight smirk painting his face.

After he’d passed the initial shock, Hinata exclaimed, “That’s not what I meant!”

Kageyama shrugged, though he hoped Hinata would take a leap of faith and lean forward to initiate this time. And that he did—kind of.

Hinata raised his hands to the collar of Kageyama’s volleyball jacket, gripping the fabric and pulling Kageyama down to him. Kageyama grunted slightly out of surprise as he was tugged down to Hinata, their lips meeting briefly. Hinata pushed Kageyama away after a few moments to see what Kageyama’s face looked like. The pink tint to his cheeks and the wide and sparkly look in his eyes were beautiful and he almost looked entirely and distinctly not scary. Hinata’s face broke out into a huge smile before Kageyama reestablished the kiss. The little flower tumbled out of Kageyama’s hair and ended up sitting in Hinata’s, which Kageyama only noticed when they pulled away, breathless and more or less exuberant. (It was more.)

“Well,” Hinata started, bringing a hand up to ruffle his hair and thereby knocking the flower out. Kageyama picked it up and placed it gently back in Hinata’s orange hair. “I think I should get stung by bees more often.”

Kageyama’s look of embarrassment was beyond prominent. “Shut up, dumbass.”

**Author's Note:**

> so i actually had the idea of the beginning of this for a comic, but since i’m more comfortable conveying a story by writing rather than drawing, we have this! hopefully you enjoyed and all kudos/comments/bookmarks are greatly appreciated !!


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